Plastic Surgeon Says Labial Surgery Can Be Life-Changing for Patients

Labiaplasty, a procedure done to reduce the size of the labia minora
in women, is one of the most common female genital aesthetic surgeries,
says Jennifer L. Walden, MD, a plastic surgeon with a private practice
in Austin, Texas. Dr. Walden, who has performed 25-50 labiaplasties per
year since opening her practice 9 years ago, says that although the
procedure can be life-changing, it is too often done by physicians
unfamiliar with the latest techniques and with little experience
operating on female genitalia. In this interview with Medscape, she
reveals what she considers to be best practices for this procedure.Medscape: How exactly is labiaplasty done?Dr. Walden: It involves an excisional
procedure to make the labia smaller and more cosmetically appealing.
There are several ways to treat labial hypertrophy that have been
described in the literature. The excisional techniques involving a wedge
excision, such as a V-wedge or W-plasty, are the preferred techniques
nowadays. They put the incision line on either aspect of the labia
minora. An older method, which has largely been abandoned, is trimming
the outer edge of the labia minora.
The V-wedge and W-plasty lead to less scar burden and to fewer
problems, such as itching, burning, and painful sex, which were more
common with the older procedures. They also preserve the natural border
of the labia because the incision is down along the inner aspect of it,
and the incision crosses and goes down the outer aspect of the midline
of the labia minora.Medscape:Is this procedure growing in popularity?Dr. Walden: I'd say that it's become
more acceptable in the past decade, and that's because techniques have
improved, more doctors are now marketing that they do the procedure, and
more doctors who specialize in the procedure have emerged. All of these
things combined have led to it becoming less taboo and more accepted
because it is not only cosmetically appealing, it's functionally
appealing, too. However, when anything gains in popularity, there are
always going to be hangers-on who want to jump on the trend. There are
people who are less qualified to do genital surgery who do it anyway,
and that's what gives cosmetic procedures a bad name. But there are a
lot of very well-qualified people who are trained to surgically address
these issues who produce nice results and change the quality of life for
a lot of women.Medscape:What are the main reasons why women seek this procedure?Dr. Walden: Usually they are seeking
it because they're having local irritation of the area, problems with
personal hygiene when going to the bathroom or during their menstrual
cycle, interference with sex, and discomfort during cycling, sitting, or
walking or with tight jeans or yoga pants. What we hope is for the
labia minora to be housed within the labia majora because the labia
majora have a different quality to the skin and are designed to protect
the inner labia minora. When the labia minora protrude outside of the
labia majora, it's essentially a part of the female anatomy that's not
protected, and it can be very irritating. Therefore, one of the main
benefits is just an improvement of discomfort.
Women can also have a general concern with the appearance of their
labia, so they want it to look as nice as possible. And that's OK. It's
not a bad thing for women to want to look as good as possible.Medscape:Are these benefits documented in the medical literature?Dr. Walden: There have been a lot of
well-done studies on this procedure, and there also have been a lot of
case reports and small series, not just in the plastic surgery
literature but in the obstetrics and gynecology literature.[1-3] In many different specialties, this is a well-documented procedure.
My labiaplasty patients are some of my happiest patients because it's
a relatively straightforward and short procedure that's done on an
outpatient basis. Within about an hour, it can be kind of life-changing.

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About This Blog

Welcome! My name is Dr. Jennifer Walden, and I'm a Austin, Texas-based cosmetic plastic surgeon, recently relocated from New York, New York, who has been featured on FoxNews, CBS, E! and ABC networks regarding plastic surgery and other medical topics. I am board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and fellowship-trained in Aesthetic Surgery. The comments on the site are the opinion of my contributors and myself alone and should not be taken as fact or as medical advice. I have not treated any of the people presented here and the information should be taken for entertainment value only. The messages are not intended to substitute or imply medical advice. If you cannot accept this policy, please ignore the posts on this blog.

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To contact Dr. Walden in regard to media inquiries, please call her office at 512-328-4100. For patient inquiries, please use the online form here or call 512-328-4100.